Abusive supervision and the entitled employee

The Role of Leader-Member Exchange Relations and Individual Differences on Counterproductive Work Behavior

Although researchers have documented relations between abusive supervision and subordinate counterproductive work behavior (CWB), might CWB result from non-abusive treatment? We address the question by examining the relation between leader-member relations (LMX) and CWB as well as potential mediators and moderators of that relation. One hundred and eighty subordinates completed surveys assessing their LMX quality, entitlement, negative emotions, self-control, and CWB. Twenty-six supervisors also provided CWB data on 88 of those subordinates. We found that subordinates reporting lower quality relations with their supervisors were more likely to experience CWB than other subordinates and that anger mediated that relation. There was some support for the moderating effect of self-control on the negative emotion - CWB relation. Entitlement did not moderate the LMX - anger relation as hypothesized. One implication is that supervisors do not have to treat their subordinates poorly for the subordinates to react negatively and engage in behavior detrimental to their organization.

Perceived abusive supervision and graduate students' suicidal ideation: from the perspective of interpersonal psychological theory of suicide

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the issue of suicide caused by the stress of a contradictory relationship between graduate students and academic supervisors has aroused heated discussion in society. Based on the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived abusive supervision on graduate students' suicidal ideation and the parallel mediating roles of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey measuring perceived abusive supervision, interpersonal psychological needs and suicidal ideation among 232 Chinese graduate students. A structural equation model was constructed to test the hypothesis.

RESULTS

The results showed that abusive supervision directly exacerbated suicidal ideation (β = 0.160, 95% CI = [0.038, 0.281], p = 0.009) and indirectly influenced suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness (β = 0.059, 95% CI = [0.008, 0.110], p = 0.019) and perceived burdensomeness (β = 0.102, 95% CI = [0.013, 0.191], p = 0.018). The indirect effect accounted for 50.15% of the overall effect.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings enrich our understanding of the influence of supervisor-student relationship by integrating the literatures on educational and organizational behaviour, and provide practical insights for psychosocial interventions from the perspective of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide.

Can't stop eating my feelings: the maladaptive responses of abused employees toward abusive supervision

Although organizational research on abusive supervision and its detrimental effects on individuals and organizations has become increasingly popular, little attention has been paid to the maladaptive responses of subordinates to abusive supervision. We build upon self-regulatory theory to investigate one common but overlooked maladaptive response of subordinates to abusive supervision: subordinate overeating behavior. We conducted a single-source, multi-wave daily diary study on 10 consecutive working days (N = 115 employees and 1150 daily surveys) to investigate the relationship between abusive supervision and overeating behavior via a subordinate's negative mood at the high versus low values of subordinate's recovery experiences. We, from the perspective of self-regulatory impairment, found that a subordinate's perceptions of abusive supervision instill a sense of negative mood, which in turn render a loss of control over his/her behavioral intentions toward overeating behavior. Moreover, the first-stage moderation results demonstrated that recovery experiences at the workplace mitigate the depleting effects of abusive supervision. Abused subordinates are less susceptible to the effects of abusive supervision on overeating behavior via their negative moods when there are greater recovery experiences at the workplace. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Investigating employees' deviant work behavior in the hotel industry during COVID-19: Empirical evidence from an emerging country

Employees in the hotel industry are among the most vulnerable groups that have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anchored on the general strain theory, transactional theory of stress and coping, and theory of justice, this study investigates the mechanism through which hotel employees' perceived job insecurity affects their deviant work behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey method was used to collect three-wave sample data from 988 hotel employees in popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. Multivariate data analysis reveals a positive relationship between perceived job insecurity and deviant work behavior, and this relationship is mediated by psychological distress. Furthermore, abusive supervision positively moderates the association between psychological distress-deviant work behavior and the indirect influence of perceived job insecurity on deviant work behavior through psychological distress. These findings are useful for hotel managers seeking to manage and develop employees in a global health crisis such as COVID-19.

Benefits of non-work interactions with your supervisor: Exploring the bottom-up effect of employee boundary blurring behavior on abusive supervision

Abusive supervision has long been found to have remarkably negative impacts on individual and organizational outcomes. Accordingly, prior studies have explored many organizational and supervisory predictors of abusive supervision and offered several interventions to reduce it. However, extant research lacks the bottom-up perspective to explore how employees can act to reduce abusive supervision, which is an important factor that enriches abusive supervision literature and helps employees protect themselves from being abused. Drawing on self-disclosure theory, we develop a model of whether and how employee boundary blurring behavior may protect them from being abused by their supervisors. Specifically, we conducted two studies to test the theoretical model, including a scenario-based experimental study and a multi-source, multi-wave field study. The results reveal a negative indirect effect of employee boundary blurring behavior on abusive supervision via supervisor liking toward the employee. By uncovering employee boundary blurring behavior as an antecedent of abusive supervision, we enrich the abusive supervision literature with a bottom-up behavioral strategy for employees to proactively protect themselves from being abused. We hope our findings will encourage future studies to identify boundary conditions and other solutions for employees to minimize the risk of being abused.

Abusive supervision: a systematic literature review

The interest generated by abusive supervision among researchers can be gauged from the fact that more than 140 articles on abusive supervision have been published by leading journals in the last five years alone. However, a comprehensive understanding of the same is lacking. As a result, we systematically reviewed 273 articles on abusive supervision published between 2000 and 2022. This enabled us to present five interrelated aspects of abusive supervision literature. First, we focus on the definitional issues associated with abusive supervision. Second, we examine two widely used abusive supervision scales. Third, we review and critique different research designs utilized in abusive supervision studies. Fourth, we look at the key theories underpinning abusive supervision research and map the nomological network of abusive supervision. Fifth, we suggest novel avenues for theoretical advancement. In sum, we endeavored to portray a detailed picture of research on abusive supervision.

Why Employees Experience Burnout: An Explanation of Illegitimate Tasks

Among the many workplace stressors, a new type of stressor has been identified: illegitimate tasks. This newly identified type of stressor refers to work tasks that do not meet employee role expectations and constitute a violation of professional identity. To investigate illegitimate tasks’ mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions on job burnout, we examined a cross-level first-stage moderated mediation model with the collective climate as a moderator and psychological entitlement as a mediator. Grounded in the job demands–resources model (JD-R) and justice theory, the current study uniquely posits that illegitimate tasks can lead to burnout by way of psychological entitlement; however, this effect is less where collective climate is higher. Data were collected from 459 employees on 89 teams at enterprises in China. The results of the analysis, using HLM, MPLUS and SPSS revealed that illegitimate tasks stimulated employees’ psychological entitlement and led to job burnout. While employees’ psychological entitlement played a partially mediating role between illegitimate tasks and job burnout, a collective climate could weaken the stimulating effect of illegitimate tasks on employees’ psychological entitlement and then negatively affect the mediating effect of psychological entitlement between illegitimate tasks and burnout. The study reveals the antecedents of burnout from the perspective of job tasks and psychological entitlement, offers practical insight into the mechanism of illegitimate tasks on employee job burnout and recommends that organizations develop a collective climate to reduce employees’ psychological entitlement and job burnout for steady development of the enterprise.

Technostress and the entitled employee: impacts on work and family

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of techno-overload and techno-invasion on work and family. Specifically, we focus on intention to turnover in the work domain, work-family conflict in the work-family domain, and family burnout in the family domain. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of entitlement, a personality variable, in this process.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 253 people who were using technology to complete their work over two time periods, the relationships were examined using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

Findings

The results revealed that both techno-overload and techno-invasion were significantly related to greater turnover intentions, higher work-family conflict, and greater family burnout. In addition, entitlement played a moderating role such that those who were higher in entitlement had stronger techno-overload-outcome and technostress invasion-outcome relationships.

Practical implications

These findings may provide managers key insights to help manage employees, especially those with an inflated sense of entitlement, to mitigate the serious negative outcomes associated with techno-overload and techno-invasion. In particular, both techno- overload and techno-invasion had minimal impact on negative outcomes when employee entitlement was lower. However, when employee entitlement was higher, techno-overload and techno-invasion had considerable negative effects.

Originality/value

Due to the ubiquitous nature of information-communication technology (ICT) in organizations today, individuals often experience techno-overload and techno-invasion. This research utilized conservation of resources theory to examine these relationships. This study established the relationships of both techno-overload and techno-invasion with key organizational and family outcomes and points to the critical role of the personality variable, entitlement, in this process. The results provide theoretical and practical advancement in the role of technology with people in organizations today.

Leaders’ Emotion Regulation and the Influence of Respect and Entitlement on Employee Silence

Although numerous researchers have examined leaders’ behavior in promoting employee voice, so far, there have been limited empirical studies in interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) and employee silence literature. This study aims to investigate how leaders’ IER can break the barrier of employee silence through examining the mediating roles of perceived mutual recognition respect and psychological entitlement. To enhance sustainable organization practices, this may be the first study that identifies leaders’ IER strategies as an effective communication tool for diminishing employee silence. By collecting data from 315 management employees in Pakistan, the hypothesized relationships were tested using path analysis and bootstrapping technique with AMOS. Our findings support the mediating role of mutual recognition respect and psychological entitlement in leaders’ IER and employee silence relationship. More specifically, while mutual recognition respect mediates the relationship between leaders’ problem-focused strategies and employee silence, psychological entitlement mediates the association of both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies with employee silence. In line with the research findings, we have highlighted some notable theoretical contributions and managerial implications. Further, we present limitations and future research directions.

Antecedents of Knowledge Hiding and Their Impact on Organizational Performance

Research on knowledge management has rapidly increased in the last decade, leaving a huge gap on how, why, and what triggers knowledge hiding in inter-organizational setups. Furthermore, the fostering factors for knowledge sharing have also remained unexplored because the employees in an organization are unwilling to share their knowledge with others for several reasons. The current study has attempted to explore the reasons that make employees hide their knowledge from other employees in order to excel. The individual factors considered in this study that make employees hide their knowledge are the lack of rewards for knowledge sharing, internal competition, and psychological entitlement. Furthermore, the interesting consequent factor of knowledge hiding in this study was found to be significant. The moderating role of employees’ social status has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge-hiding behavior and organizational performance. The population of the study was the managerial employees of financial institutions of China and the sample size taken in his study was 446 via convenient sampling technique. The independent factors in this study found significant results of knowledge-hiding behavior, thus approving the mediating role of knowledge hiding in the organizational performance of the financial institutions of China. The software used in this study for the data analysis was smart PLS and the technique used was partial least square SEM for the measurement of the hypothesis of the study. The study’s findings also have certain implications for policymaking in financial institutions that may hinder knowledge hiding practices and support the uninterrupted flow of knowledge among employees.

The Effect of Daily Fluctuation of Abusive Supervision over Employees Positive and Negative Emotions, and Recovery Experience

Abusive supervision impacts employees' emotions negatively and creates feelings of shame and fear. But it remains unclear how daily employees' positive and negative emotions are affected and if they can recover. Applying the affective event theory and job demands-resources model we hypothesized that daily abusive supervision influences employees' positive and negative emotions fluctuation over the day, recovery after work, and employee emotions the next morning. Two daily surveys were answered by 52 Mexican employees for ten days providing 347 registers in the morning and 255 in the afternoon. Hierarchical linear modeling shows alteration of positive and negative emotions in the afternoon and next day, and a positive effect over recovery in relaxation, mastery and control restoring positive emotions. However, negative emotions cannot be recovered for the following day. Additionally, we found effects of predictive variables, as the days of the week go by, positive emotions in the afternoon and negative emotions in the morning decrease. Gender shows for men a more negative effect on positive emotions in the afternoon, next morning and on mastery-recovery. Marital status revealed effect over married individuals incrementing the four recovery dimensions, increasing positive emotions, and reducing negative emotions in the afternoon and next morning. Tenure has an effect over abusive supervision, the longer employees in the company, more likely they suffer abusive supervision. We show how employees restore positive emotions after daily recovery and that negative emotions cannot be recovered for the following day; revealing how abusive managers cause emotional damage to employees every day.

Unbalanced, Unfair, Unhappy, or Unable? Theoretical Integration of Multiple Processes Underlying the Leader Mistreatment-Employee CWB Relationship with Meta-Analytic Methods

Although a litany of theoretical accounts exists to explain why mistreated employees engage in counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), little is known about whether these mechanisms are complementary or mutually exclusive, or the effect of context on their explanatory strength. To address these gaps, this meta-analytic investigation tests four theoretically-derived mechanisms simultaneously to explain the robust relationship between leader mistreatment and employee CWB: (1) a social exchange perspective, which argues that mistreated employees engage in negative reciprocal behaviors to counterbalance experienced mistreatment; (2) a justice perspective, whereby mistreated employees experience moral outrage and engage in retributive behaviors against the organization and its members; (3) a stressor-emotion perspective, which suggests that mistreated employees engage in CWBs to cope with their negative affect; and (4) a self-regulatory perspective, which proposes that mistreated employees are simply unable to inhibit undesirable behaviors. Moreover, we also examine whether the above model holds across cultures that vary on power distance. Our meta-analytic structural equation model demonstrated that all but the justice mechanism significantly mediated the relationship between leader mistreatment and employee CWBs, with negative affect emerging as the strongest explanatory mechanism in both high and low power distance cultures. Given these surprising results, as the stressor-emotion perspective is less frequently invoked in the literature, this paper highlights not only the importance of investigating multiple mechanisms together when examining the leader mistreatment-employee CWB relationship, but also the need to develop more nuanced theorizing about these mechanisms, particularly for negative affect.

Subordinates' performance-prove goal orientation and their perception of abusive supervision

I investigated the relationship between subordinates' performanceprove goal orientation and their perception of abusive supervision, and examined whether feedback-seeking behavior toward supervisors mediated this link. I collected data using a three-wave survey of 173 employees who were working in a variety of occupations in Taiwan. Empirical results indicate that when subordinates had a performanceprove goal orientation, their perception of abusive supervision was partially decreased through their feedback-seeking behavior toward supervisors. Specifically, those employees with a higher (vs. lower) performance-prove goal orientation sought more feedback from supervisors and, thus, perceived abusive supervision to a lesser degree. These findings contribute to the literature on the antecedents of abusive supervision in terms of subordinate-related factors. Managerial implications are proposed to enable employees to be aware of how their job performance is understood and viewed by their supervisors.

Abusive Supervision and Employee Empowerment: The Moderating Role of Resilience and Workplace Friendship

Several studies have explored why employees leave their organization in the face of abusive supervision. However, there is a lack of research on what makes employees continue with employment despite being affected by abusive supervision. This study responds to the calls made to analyze multiple mechanisms that employees use to cope with abusive supervision. It addresses this gap by examining employees’ psychological and social resources that can mitigate the effects of abusive supervision. We specifically consider employee psychological and structural empowerment, as well as resilience and workplace friendship. This is a time-lagged study using a sample of 146 postgraduate students who have a minimum of 2 years of work experience. Utilizing the tenets of conservation of resources theory, we find that damage to psychological empowerment plays a significant role in diminishing the work engagement and creativity of employees, as compared to structural empowerment. We also find that workplace friendship plays a significant role in weakening the damaging effects of abusive supervision on structural empowerment. Future studies should consider other psychological and social mechanisms that can mitigate the effects of abusive supervision. Moreover, organizations should work toward developing a culture of sharing and support between coworkers.

The Role of Change in the Relationships Between Leader-Member Exchange/Coworker Exchange and Newcomer Performance: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach

This study examines whether and how the qualities of newcomers’ interpersonal relationships [i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX) and coworker exchange (CWX)] relate to their initial performance and how changes in the qualities of these relationships relate to the changes in performance. To test a latent growth model, we collected data from 230 newcomers at six time points over a 6-week period. The results showed that LMX quality is positively related to initial newcomer performance; however, changes in LMX quality are not statistically significantly related to changes in newcomer performance. In contrast, an increase in CWX quality is positively related to newcomer performance improvement, but the initial quality of CWX does not predict newcomer performance. Furthermore, newcomers’ psychological entitlement moderates the relationship between LMX quality and newcomer performance; newcomers’ conscientiousness moderates the relationship between increases in CWX quality and improvements in newcomer performance. The findings increase our understanding of the newcomer exchange relationship-performance link over time and suggest that future newcomer socialization research explore the initial level of and the changes in these relationships simultaneously.

Psychological entitlement predicts noncompliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic

In this research, we examined whether psychological entitlement predicted noncompliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic. People higher in psychological entitlement typically try to avoid behaviors that might cause themselves harm, but their high expectations, lack of concern about others, and distrust of authority figures could affect their perceptions of the threat of the coronavirus and their views on the benefits of following the health guidelines. Across three studies (N = 1004, online samples from the United States), people higher in psychological entitlement reported less compliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic than people lower in psychological entitlement. Moreover, people higher in psychological entitlement believed that the threat of the virus was overblown and were less concerned about harming others, views that may partly explain their noncompliance. People higher in psychological entitlement were also more likely to report that they had contracted COVID-19, and thus their refusal to follow the health guidelines may have had negative consequences for them. An appeal to self-image concerns did not lead individuals higher in entitlement to be more likely to comply with the health guidelines.

Perceived organizational support, psychological entitlement, and extra-role behavior: The mediating role of knowledge hiding behavior

Research on the knowledge sharing has exploded over the past decades due to trends and integration of knowledge and talent management in modern workplace. However, knowledge hiding has been left unexplored; moreover, efforts to foster knowledge sharing remain because employees are unwilling to share their knowledge for several reasons. Drawing on psychological ownership and social exchange theory, this article investigated the nexus between perceived organizational support, psychological entitlement, knowledge hiding behavior, and extra-role behavior, and the mediating role of knowledge hiding behavior. Utilizing survey data collected from 375 employees in Jordanian commercial banks, a structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data. Results from structural equation modeling show that (1) perceived organizational support has a positive impact on extra-role behavior, (2) knowledge hiding behavior has a negative impact on extra-role behavior, (3) psychological entitlement has a positive impact on knowledge hiding behavior, and (4) knowledge hiding behavior mediated the relationship between psychological entitlement and extra-role behavior. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Forced distribution systems and attracting top talent

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test how an individual’s attractiveness to three types of appraisal systems relates to self-rated psychological entitlement and ethics; and constructs rated by others of: conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 148 students in graduate-level business courses and matching close friends/significant others were surveyed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression and path analysis.

Findings

Path analysis indicated acceptable fit for the overall model of attractiveness to three appraisal types.

Practical implications

Advocates of forced distribution ranking systems (FDRS) suggest that such systems stimulate a high-talent culture and that achievers and strong performers are attracted to FDRS. In contrast, the findings suggest that FDRS are attractive to individuals with high levels of psychological entitlement and low levels of conscientiousness.

Originality/value

Advocates of FDRS and prior research have indicated that such systems reduce leniency bias and stimulate a high-performance and high-talent culture in which honesty is expected and poor performance is not tolerated. Others have found that high achievers and high performers are likely to find such systems attractive. The present study suggests that one downside of FDRS is its attractiveness to workers with low levels of conscientiousness and higher levels of psychological entitlement, which are two personality traits associated with lower levels of performance and a variety of negative outcomes.

Coping With Perceived Abusive Supervision: The Role of Paranoia

Two studies (a cross-sectional survey of 90 U.K. workers and an experiment with 100 U.K. workers) examined the cognitive and behavioral effects of abusive supervision. Both studies confirmed the hypothesis that workers who experience abusive supervision show paranoia and that makes them more prone to a type of cognitive error called the “sinister attribution error.” This is where workers misattribute innocent workplace events such as tripping over something or hearing colleagues laughing to malevolent motives such as wanting to harm or mock them. Study 1 also showed that abusive supervision is associated with lower well-being. Perceived organizational support buffers these effects, and this is associated with workers making fewer sinister attribution errors, thereby protecting well-being. Study 2 explored the role of contextual cues by exposing workers to images of abusive supervision. This increased their paranoia and contributed to workers making sinister attribution errors when they were asked to interpret workplace events. Moreover, depending on the types of contextual cues, workers were more likely to express the intention of workplace deviance after thinking about past experiences of abusive supervision. We recommend that corporate ethical responsibilities include training managers and workers about the negative cognitive and mental health effects of abusive supervision.

Entitlement at work: Linking positive behaviors to employee entitlement

Perceptions of employee entitlement are reported to be increasing in organizations and have been linked to negative outcomes at work. Employee entitlement is an employee’s belief in deserving preferential treatment or reward without regard to performance. Arguments, however, are emerging that entitlement may also be linked to positive behaviors. In this article, we outline a study that examines the moderating effect of self-monitoring on the relationship between employee entitlement and organizational citizenship behavior and affective organizational commitment. Based on survey data collected from 167 individuals, we found that self-monitoring moderated the relationship between the specific subscales of employee entitlement and organizational citizenship behavior but had no relationship to commitment. Although previous studies have addressed entitlement perceptions as a negative outcome for the organization, in this article we outline the potential for positive outcomes. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.

A Resource Perspective on Abusive Supervision and Extra-Role Behaviors: The Role of Subordinates’ Psychological Capital

Abusive supervision (perceived enduring hostile verbal and nonverbal behavior) results in a host of detrimental consequences for the individual subordinate and for the organization. In the current research, we tested whether abusive supervision relates negatively to beneficial extra-role behaviors of subordinates (individual-directed and organization-directed citizenship behaviors; OCBI and OCBO) and positively to deviant extra-role behaviors of subordinates (individual-directed and organization-directed counterproductive work behavior; CWBI and CWBO). Moreover, reasoning from a resource perspective, we examined whether subordinates’ psychological capital (PsyCap: hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism) mediates these relations. PsyCap is a resource variable that is amenable to situational influences such as leadership. This makes PsyCap align with a theoretically viable, but previously not explicitly tested, mechanism underlying the effects of abusive supervision. We conducted a time-lagged, multisource study among 408 university faculty members. Abusive supervision and PsyCap were measured at Time 1 from focal participants. At Time 2, data for OCBs were collected from their supervisors and data for CWBs were collected from their peers. Results indicate that PsyCap mediated the relations between abusive supervision and OCBI, OCBO, CWBI, and CWBO. Shedding light on this process helps researchers and practitioners develop ways in which to mitigate the consequences of abusive supervision, for example, by seeking to develop PsyCap using different resources.

Psychological Entitlement Predicts Failure to Follow Instructions

Six studies examined the relationship between psychological entitlement and not following instructions. In Study 1, more entitled individuals were more likely to ignore instructions about how to format their responses. Studies 2–4 investigated possible boundaries on the association between entitlement and ignoring instructions; however, entitled people were more likely to ignore instructions even when following instructions was low cost for the self, instructions were given in a less controlling way, or punishment was highly likely to result from a failure to follow instructions. To explore another possible explanation for the relationship between entitlement and ignoring instructions, Study 5 examined whether entitled people were more sensitive to situations potentially unfair to them; indeed, they were more likely to reject offers in an ultimatum game. Building on this finding, in Study 6, more entitled individuals’ greater likelihood of ignoring instructions was predicted by their viewing instructions as an unfair demand on them.

The Buffering Effect of Mindfulness on Abusive Supervision and Creative Performance: A Social Cognitive Framework

Our research draws upon social cognitive theory and incorporates a regulatory approach to investigate why and when abusive supervision influences employee creative performance. The analyses of data from multiple time points and multiple sources reveal that abusive supervision hampers employee self-efficacy at work, which in turn impairs employee creative performance. Further, employee mindfulness buffers the negative effects of abusive supervision on employee self-efficacy at work as well as the indirect effects of abusive supervision on employee creative performance. Our findings have implications for both theory and practice. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

What about ‘MEE’: A Measure of Employee Entitlement and the impact on reciprocity in the workplace

A basic underlying assumption of the psychological contract is that both parties come to a mutual agreement about the expectations and obligations of a contract of employment. Recent research provides evidence of the potential for employees to develop unrealistic expectations from this contract and this has been described as a sense of entitlement. In this article, we outline two studies. In the first study, we test the internal structure and reliability of a scale we developed and named the Measure of Employee Entitlement. In the second study, we test the predictive validity of the Measure of Employee Entitlement against a measure of reciprocity. The development and validation of the Measure of Employee Entitlement extends our knowledge of sense of entitlement in the workplace and situates entitlement as a factor that may impact on the development of psychological contracts. This research provides a platform from which researchers and practitioners can continue to coherently and consistently investigate the phenomenon of employee entitlement.

Employee Entitlement and Proactive Work Behaviors

Organizations are concerned that the newest generation of workers believe they are entitled to positive organizational outcomes, regardless of their level of effort. To better understand employee entitlement and organizational outcomes, we tested whether entitlement was directly related to the proactive work behaviors of voice and taking charge. We also examined whether narcissism and organizational identification moderated these relationships. Results suggest that entitlement is not directly related to either of the proactive work behaviors examined. However, support was found for a model where narcissism moderated the relationship between entitlement and taking charge behaviors. Low narcissism employees are less likely to exhibit taking charge behaviors when they report low levels of entitlement. When employees are high in narcissism, low entitlement employees are actually more likely to take charge than employees high in entitlement. Organizational identification was also found to moderate the relationship between entitlement and voice as well as between entitlement and taking charge. Highly entitled individuals will engage in more voice and taking charge when they demonstrate high levels of organizational identification. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

A review of entitlement

Interest in employee entitlement perceptions is increasing in academia and in organizations. Entitlement has a long history of being conceptualized as a personality trait in psychology closely aligned with narcissism. Research on workplace entitlement has generally revealed links with negative workplace behaviors, indicating costly outcomes for individuals, teams, and organizations. Our aim in this article is to review the literature on workplace entitlement perceptions, identifying how the construct has changed definition over time, and indicating related constructs that impact on research within industrial and organizational psychology. This review progresses research in this field by examining the nomological network around entitlement and resolving current inconsistencies in the construct definition of entitlement in the workplace, and establishing a set of firm future research directions for entitlement research.

Abusive supervision: subordinate personality or supervisor behavior?

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether employees’ personalities are associated with their perceptions of abusive supervision.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 756 working adults provided data. Subjects’ began by taking personality assessments and then received a performance evaluation via a video role-play. Subjects then provided their perceptions of how abusive the supervisor was. The data were analyzed with regression analysis.

Findings

– The results illustrated that respondents’ hostile attribution styles, negative affectivity, trait anger, and entitlement were positively and significantly associated with perceptions of abusive supervision.

Research limitations/implications

– The results imply that judgments of supervisory abuse and interventions to ameliorate the negative consequences associated with abusive supervision should consider subordinates’ characteristics.

Originality/value

– This study controlled supervisor behavior via a video vignette to assess how multiple subordinates’ perceive the same supervisor behavior. This study contributes to a more complete understanding of how personality is associated with perceptions of abusive supervision.

Accountability, entitlement, tenure, and satisfaction in Generation Y

Purpose

– Given the entitlement and job mobility associated with Generation Y, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and tenure on the felt accountability-job satisfaction relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey data from a sample of resident assistants were examined using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

Findings

– Entitled employees responded to accountability favorably, demonstrating lower job satisfaction than non-entitled employees when accountability was low, but nearly equal levels when accountability was high. All participants reported higher job satisfaction when job tenure was lower, but entitlement-driven satisfaction differences were observed only when accountability was low.

Research limitations/implications

– Cross-sectional data warrants longitudinal replication to establish causation and to give insight into how much time must pass before accountability begins to reduce the negative effects of entitlement.

Practical implications

– Findings suggest that managerial tactics that increase employees’ felt accountability could reduce the negative impact of psychological entitlement on job attitudes and related outcomes.

Originality/value

– Using a unique sample of Generation Y employees, the results provide an indication of how supervisors from earlier generations can improve the workplace attitudes of younger workers.

Coping With Destructive Leadership

The emerging literature on destructive leadership has been mostly leader centric, often reducing followers to passive subordinates. In line with recent follower-focused approaches to leadership, this theoretical contribution aims at shedding light on the interaction process between leaders and followers and on the active part followers can play in triggering as well as curbing destructive leader behavior. Specifically, we analyze in what ways followers can cope with destructive leadership and how the confrontativeness of the chosen coping strategy in turn affects leaders’ perceptions and resultant behaviors. The proposed interaction model – where subordinate coping is both consequence and antecedent of destructive leadership – offers testable propositions for future research and opens up new avenues for understanding and handling destructive leadership.

A Multiple Pathway Model Linking Charismatic Leadership Attempts and Abusive Supervision

Researchers have theorized about a link between destructive and charismatic leadership but have left this link rather unspecified. This paper discusses charismatic leadership as an antecedent of abusive supervision. Based on the charismatic leadership process, it specifies five distinct pathways that may lead from charismatic leadership attempts to abusive supervision: Overdramatized charisma with abusive supervision as an unintended consequence, overambitious charisma with abusive supervision as a stress reaction, refused charisma with abusive supervision as a reaction to frustration and provocation, disappointed charisma with abusive supervision as a reaction to threatened self-esteem and negative affect, and abandoned charisma with abusive supervision as a volitional change of influence tactics. This paper aims to introduce these five pathways resulting in theoretical propositions that may inspire future empirical research.